Entry 26: The Cooper Household [02]

“Mm, this is really good Samuel. Are you sure this is your first attempt?” While covering her mouth as she chewed upon the cheesy broccoli pasta bake, she asked him slightly sceptically. Samuel could understand why she’d think he might have been kidding about it having been his first time, but it truly was. He’d been no chef in his previous life, and at most he’d poured water and flavouring into instant noodles, so it had even come as a surprise to Samuel himself that he was able to emulate the cookbook to such a standard.

‘But then again, I’ve never been bad at the things I did. My studies are, or at least were, pretty good back then. And following something like instructions out of a book is too easy.’

“Uh-huh. I’ve been following a cookbook I found buried in the pantry.”

“A cookbook? Why don’t you borrow a few of mine and show me the results?” While looking at him with gleaming eyes, she brought out some random books from inside a cupboard out of easy reach. Even though Samuel didn’t think there was much merit to accepting the books since he had only a few ingredients to work with around the house, while the cookbooks she had passed on over looked quite fancy, he didn’t think it would hurt to accept the gracious gift given the fact that they appeared to be unused.

‘To be fair, I’d imagine a beautiful housewife of her calibre would already have her meal recipes and plans sorted.’ Looking at her from such an angle caused a twinge of jealousy to develop within his heart, but he promptly put it down, replacing it with an admiration for the way the simple apron caressed around her curvy form.

While in a bit of a trance just staring at her beauty, he remembered the rewards he had received earlier that day. His Status Window had upgraded a whole 2 levels and now, theoretically, he could read about Emily’s background and history.

[Name: Emily Cooper]

[Age: 32]

[Sex: Female]

[Relationship Status: Loveless Marriage]

[Body Count: 2 (Husband, Samuel)]

[Obedience: 10]

[Favourability: 30]

[Lust: 10]

[Height: 165 cm]

[Weight: 58 Kg]

[Cup: DDD (F)]

[History: She married young to her first love. As her partner is an ambitious man, she put her 100% into the home to support him. She has noticed that her husband does not express affection nor appreciate her at all and has slowly fallen out of love with him. However, her morals will not allow her to pursue extra-marital relations and she sees falling out of love as a normal part of a marriage.]

‘That last sentence is beautiful. She’s a loyal woman which makes her that much sexier in my eyes.’ Samuel thought over the information he had found out from using the skill. However, he was left feeling slightly dissatisfied at how basic the summary he’d been provided was, as he’d been expecting a lot more from a max-level skill.

[Host is correct in that the skill is at its max level. However, even beyond the level cap, the skill will evolve as the Host continues to level up. Once Host has reached the MAX level, you will be able to access an entire autobiography of an individual using the status window skill. This is also the case for all other skills in the system.]

‘Hm… I see. That’s a bit of a bummer but the skill is definitely a lot more useful than it was initially. And I’m confident I can reach, at least, the next few levels pretty quickly.’ Samuel accepted the System’s prompt rather easily since he knew the non-sentient tool would always have his best interests in mind. Given how useful it had been when he was thinking about applying for a credit card, he understood that it wouldn’t intentionally hold back on providing him with benefits where available.

And like that, while exchanging light conversation with Emily, who was also tending to the wok on her stove, the evening continued until suddenly Samuel heard a crunch out the front side of the house. As the couple had small pebbles out front decorating their lawn, Samuel realised that Emily’s husband had just arrived home.

Emily had only just remembered her husband was about to arrive any minute now and had realised what a blunder she’d done. She didn’t want Samuel to see their sour relationship after the fight he had witnessed the other evening, and she wasn’t too sure how her husband would act around him.

Following the rattling of keys at the front door, a man of about the same height as Samuel, with a briefcase in his right hand, marched into the house. There was no greeting after the long day away, but the man did walk down the hallway and entered the kitchen. Upon entering the kitchen, even though it appeared to the man as though Emily wanted to say something, he immediately began to speak.

“Have dinner read-y… soon. Who’s this?” While looking at Samuel with narrowed eyes as though he was examining the teen, Emily quickly replied to her husband so that he wouldn’t get any wayward thoughts about Samuel’s presence.

“He’s the boy from next door, James. Surely you remember him? Samuel, remember. He’s grown up a lot, hasn’t he?” Emily introduced as if trying to spread her enthusiasm about how much the child, who they’d known for over a decade, had grown up to her husband.

“Evening, Mr Cooper.”

“Oh… Right. Anyway, as I was saying, have dinner ready for… 15 minutes? Leave it on my desk for once I’m out of the shower.” His reply to her introduction was lacklustre at best and he even completely ignored Samuel’s greeting. The glower on his face immediately disappeared when he realised the teenager wasn’t anyone important and was replaced by a disdainful look, as though expressing his annoyance at the boy’s presence. This was compounded by the fact that Samuel could hear James muttering ‘what a nuisance’ under his breath as he left the kitchen.

‘What the fuck…? Is it normal to be that uptight? I have this weird feeling that had I been wearing an expensive watch, his entire attitude would do a 180.’

The man clearly didn’t put Samuel in his eyes, but Samuel couldn’t help but squint at the retreating figure of Emily’s husband. ‘So this is who Emily is in a loveless marriage with? She’s loyal to that dirtbag? What a waste of a fine woman.’

Shaking his head at the injustice, Samuel’s thoughts trailed back to the status he had viewed of James Hayes just before he left the room.

[James Cooper]

[Age: 34]

[Sex: Male]

[Relationship Status: Marriage of Convenience, On-the-Market]

[Body Count: 24]

[Obedience: 0]

[Favourability: 0]

[Lust: 5]

[Height: 178 cm]

[Weight: 90 Kg ]

‘Fuck! Don’t display the cup size! I don’t want to see that!’ Samuel quickly interjected, before the System could display, what Samuel imagined would be, a heart-failure-inducing line of text that would send him straight to the gulag.

[Host is advised to rest assured. The System understands Host’s wishes and will naturally keep such information out of your radar.]

[History: An ambitious man who realised he tied the knot too early. He has been in several relationships with women besides his wife since marriage to climb the food chain, and when exerting his authority. The sexless marriage with Emily is a means to having his household chores completed and his meals taken care of. Currently courting the senior vice president’s wife at his investment banking job.]

‘What a scumbag! A marriage of convenience? This man is too much.’ While looking back at the form of Emily who was busying about the kitchen trying to hurriedly prepare dinner for the time set by her husband, Samuel watched as a bead of sweat rolled down her forehead. He couldn’t help but wonder which of the two- his mother or his neighbour- was living a more depressing life. Though truly, everyone’s perception of happiness was different and even if his mother may work long hours every day, she could very well be more content with her life than a neglected housewife.

Samuel’s brain went into overdrive as he began to think of what he should do about the situation. Just as he’d felt after ejaculating inside of her- the result of which evidently went unnoticed by Emily with how normal she continued to act around Samuel- he felt strongly about making this woman’s life better in this iteration.

‘Why don’t I make her life better? I’ll steal her away from her husband and make her my woman. I’ll give her all the fucking and attention a woman like her deserves.’ Even though Samuel had just now resolved himself to cuck James Hayes, he didn’t actually know how he would go about doing it. Resolving himself to doing something was a lot easier than actually doing it.

Figuring he should get home to greet his mother when she came back home, and so that he could run over some ideas in his head about how to steal the affection and devotion of his buxom neighbour. He left the house without much fanfare, with Emily profusely apologising for not paying him much attention when her husband came home. He just brushed it off, understanding the woes of a woman who was at the mercy of her husband.

‘I’m going to make her mine within the year. Perhaps even the next few months. I don’t want him to abuse the woman that I’ll have belong to me.’ With a healthy glint of vigilance in the young adult’s eyes, he made his way back to the more rundown home next door.

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